Tech companies target Africa’s surveillance market

At
a security exhibition in Morocco tech companies pushed to convince
African officials that their state-of-the-art surveillance tools are the
key to stability and development.

The ASEC Expo in Rabat, billed by organisers as the first of its kind on the continent, last week brought together firms from across the world looking to conquer new markets in a region marked by rapid urbanisation and economic growth.

And while Europe has slapped restrictions on an industry eyed with
suspicion by many due to civil liberty concerns, African countries with
lax legislation make tempting partners.

Chinese communications giant Huawei had a large presence at the
event, hyping the success of networks already installed in the capitals
of Kenya, Cameroon, Mali and the Ivory Coast.

“When a crime has been committed, thanks to the cameras, we work
magic,” said Ghanian security minister Albert Kan-Dapaah in a
promotional clip for the company.

“My command centre is the envy of many of my colleagues.”

Huawei has already equipped more than 700 cities in 100 countries,
including more than 25 in Africa, according to the state-run Xinhua news
agency.

But the firm is in the spotlight over concerns it could give Beijing a
backdoor into sensitive communications and infrastructure, with the
United States and Australia to ban its equipment from their future 5G
networks.

Chinese communications giant Huawei has already equipped more
than 700 cities in 100 countries, including more than 25 in Africa,
according to the state-run Xinhua news agency

Just a dozen companies run the booming
global video surveillance market, a $30 billion industry as of 2017
which research firm Stratistics MRC has forecasted will have double
digit growth over the next few years.

A representative of South Korea’s Hanwha Group said the African
market was “very strong… because there is a lot of opportunity for us
to supply our products”.

“We had a lot of sales last year and this year,” particularly in Egypt and South Africa, Yoonboom Choi said.

European concerns

The new high-tech command centres of “safe cities” are capable of
instantly detecting anything from everyday crimes and accidents to
natural disasters and civil unrest—and to trigger quick responses.

With big data and artificial intelligence, crowds are no longer anonymous.

Facial recognition algorithms coupled with troves of readily
available data online can pinpoint the identity of anyone who passes by a
surveillance feed.

Vehicles can be identified by their number plates, and ultra-high
tech software can even detect human emotions and predict behaviour.

Morocco has shown a strong interest in new far-reaching technologies

“We can establish anyone’s identity without
knowing him—his first and last name, academic background… his family,
what he prefers, where he travels,” Huawei regional representative
Chakib Achour said.

These data sets are useful to police pursuing criminals and to companies looking for potential customers, advocates say.

But the risk of mass surveillance has sparked concerns among civil liberties advocates.

Authoritarian regimes across Africa are frequently accused of violating rights to stamp out opposition.

In its annual report for 2019 Human Rights Watch singled out Egypt
for using counterterrorism measures and security concerns “as a guise to
crush all forms of dissent”.

Fears over surveillance spurred the European Union in 2018 into enacting a strict new General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).

Europe now has restrictions on “technology that could be developed in
the Middle East or Africa”, said Francois Levy, regional director of
Brazilian software company Digifort.

Marrakesh is working on an app that would allow citizens and tourists alike to “place emergency calls” and send in tips

‘Citizen security’

Morocco, which organised the exhibition, says it needs a strong
security policy to fight terrorism and has shown a strong interest in
the far-reaching technologies.

“Citizen security has always been the focal point” of Morocco’s city
planning and “underlies the great project of urban renewal that we
continue to lead”, said head of Rabat city council Mohamed Sadiki during
a visit to the expo.

Marrakesh is working on an app that would allow citizens and tourists
alike to “place emergency calls” and send in tips, boasts regional
security official Moulay El Hafid Zimirly in a Huawei-sponsored clip.

In its commercial material, Huawei openly pushes the “example” set by
China, “where all police stations have their own video surveillance
unit”.

The company offers authorities the chance to tap into troves of
images taken in taxis, airports, and stadiums, as well as images taken
by ordinary citizens with their mobile phones.

In its 2019 global report Human Rights Watch detailed how the Chinese
government at home increasingly uses mass surveillance to “tighten
control over society”, including through the widespread collection of
biometric details including DNA and voice samples.

“All of these systems are being deployed without effective privacy
protections in law or in practice, and often people are unaware that
their data is being gathered, or how it is used or stored,” the report
said.

For Africa, adopting the technology on offer would open up a major pool of data—but also questions.

By 2020 more than one out of every two people on the continent will
have a smartphone, according to a 2018 study published by Deloitte.

James Barnley

I’m the editor of the DomainingAfrica. I write about internet and social media, focusing mainly on Domains. As a subscriber to my newsletter, you’ll get a lot of information on Domain Issues, ICANN, new gtld’s, Mobile technology and social media.